Ohio's Monuments Man defended art, liberty - no matter the risk

10:00 AM,
Feb. 9, 2014

Farmer receives the Grosse Verdienstkreuz medal from Germany's Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Klaus Kinkel. Farmer received the honor for the work he did during and immediately after World War II to save thousands of seized pieces of art, destined to be destroyed by the Nazis.

Written by

Cliff Radel
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In a commercial for his movie, "The Monuments Men," which opened Feb. 7, Clooney describes the art lovers who went on the world's greatest treasure hunt near the end of World War II. Sent behind enemy lines to save hundreds of thousands of priceless works from destruction by Nazis, the Monuments Men were artists, art dealers and, Clooney says, "architects."

Farmer studied to be an architect at Miami University, graduating in 1935. Before he could go to graduate school, he ran out of money. So the Alliance native went to work in Cincinnati ...